Avenger of the Small
by UniquelyMi
Summary: A kidnapping gone wrong and an unfair court verdict do what nobody else could - make Kel run away. Two years later, a shadow appears, killing rapists and abusive nobles alike and throwing Tortall into uproar. Most refer to the killer as "the Shadow", but some use a different title: "Avenger of the Small".
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer: **Not Tamora Pierce, etc, etc.

**Prologue**

Kel stepped onto the landing of Barlor's Needle, her legs trembling. She barely took a moment to gasp for breath, her hands on her knees as she bent over, before sprinting to where Lalasa and Jump were lying on the exposed platform. Jump was whining softly, but Lalasa lay still, so very still…

With shaking fingers, Kel touched Lalasa's face. It was cold. Panic rose in her throat but Kel forced it down sharply, moving her fingers to feel Lalasa's neck.

There was no pulse.

A pause, as the realization sank in, and then Kel's heart shattered. "Lalasa!" she screamed, her façade breaking as grief overtook her in a wave.

Another girl would have shaken Lalasa furiously, trying to shake her out of death.

Kel froze. _She's not dead, she can't be dead, it's just some trick of the wind, she's not dead, she isn't, she isn't_ -

A gust blew sharply against the Needle, making it sway and Kel stumble, shaking her out of her stupor. Tears stung painfully against her eyes, looking like rain droplets as they fell onto the Needle as she regarded her former _Not former, she's not dead, she's not! _maid.

A whine reminded her that Jump was alive and injured. Kel looked between Lalasa and Jump, knowing with a painful certainty that she could not descend Barlor's Needle carrying both of them. The obvious choice was Jump, because Lalasa was -

_She's not dead, she's not dead, she's NOT DEAD!_

Kel pushed away her insisting subconscious and tried the door. It was locked. Numbly she realized that she would have to descend the outer staircase. She made a makeshift sling for Jump, and then, in a stupor, descended the staircase.

Much like when the King had put a spell on Kel, she only realized she was at the bottom when she got there. Shadows loomed over her.

Kel whispered, "Lalasa's still up there. She's d -" She choked on her words. The world spun and then faded into blackness.

* * *

The trial was a year later.

Raoul hadn't known Kel well before he took her on as a squire, but he knew enough to see the changes in her. Jump was nursed to health, though he would always have a limp, but Kel was still wracked with grief over Lalasa. But what worried Raoul more was how she hid it behind an implacable mask, only the lack of a sparkle in her eyes revealing her sorrow. She spent more time with animals than humans, always surrounded by birds that she somehow seemed to communicate to. Even Dom, who had always been good with new recruits, couldn't get her to smile, or Lerant, who didn't bother to conceal his jealousy, get her to react. She did her duty stoically, let insults flow over her, and seemed to have had some fire in her put out. Whatever had driven her to become a page had dimmed, showing only when Kel witnessed an injustice. Sometimes Raoul feared that Kel was only living for the trial, and had nightmares about her reaction to what the verdict would likely be.

Nealen of Queenscove was more vocal. "You have to help her!" he had told Raoul the first time he'd seen him. "My lord," he'd amended. "She's not normally like this; she can't go on like this! It isn't _right_." In frustration, he'd thrown up his arms.

Normally, Raoul would have been warmed by such a friend, but all he'd felt was weary. Kel responded to nothing but work and injustice, and rarely smiled. He'd started jousting early, but while Kel went to work with fierceness, seeming to be imagining Lalasa's attackers' faces on the shield, she did not change otherwise.

Only when they were summoned back to Corus for the trial did Kel react. A fierce, vindictive light appeared in her eyes and though she didn't speak any more than she used to, she trained with a new fervor that worried Raoul more than reassured him.

He took her over one day, the day before they would arrive in Corus. Ahead of them, clouds were beginning to gather on the windswept day, promising rain ahead. The thought that he was a coward occurred to him, whispered to him in hissed tones, but he ignored it even while he felt his heart break every time he looked at her.

"Kel," he said carefully, not knowing how to explain.

"My lord?" Kel looked at him with those hazel eyes that looked like old, brittle wood that had been doused with water and then set alight, smoking and blazing and hard. Her voice was even, measured, showing no evidence of the turmoil obviously taking place within her.

Raoul sighed. "I know you're anticipating the trial and the consequent justice being doled out to the kidnappers. I'm just saying, don't…don't get your hopes up."

"What do you mean, sir?" She didn't vocalize it, but it was clear that she couldn't imagine anyone getting away with murder.

Raoul tried to put it delicately. "Kel, the kidnappers wouldn't be tried for murder," he said gently. "Because a good attorney could argue that it was merely an unfortunate consequence of bad planning."

"However she died, they kidnapped her and left her on a small platform that she could have _rolled_ off," Kel said frostily.

"Of course," Raoul agreed, eyeing his squire warily. When she got _that_ look in her eyes, an emotionlessly cold and calculating gleam, she was significantly more efficient and sent significantly more people to the healer - except for the ones that died immediately. All of Third Company had learned to avoid Kel when she looked that way.

He didn't bring up the topic again.

The rain started as they rode into Corus, black clouds rolling overhead and releasing their burden onto them. Within moments it was pouring and they were soaked despite their oiled coats. Third Company shivered and complained, but Kel just stared fixedly ahead, sitting straight in the saddle of Peachblossom, who was glaring at the other horses in a fair imitation of his rider's mood, birds huddled under her cloak. Jump trotted beside Peachblossom, his eyes just as focused as Kel's. Somebody made the Sign at the sight- Raoul didn't bother reprimanding him. At least she'd already gotten rid of the baby griffin.

They arrived a day later, soaked through. Kel was bouncing in her seat - at least, what passed for her as bouncing in her seat, which was sitting a bit looser than usual, her foot shaking nearly imperceptibly, impatiently. Inside, Lalasa's friend Tian was waiting for Kel and Raoul. Raoul numbly felt grateful for her assistance as she sent orders for hot water, tubs, and food. Kel said nothing as Tian lit fires and began to take off their layers of wet clothes, though Tian wasn't her maid; he guessed she was just as dazed as he from the long ride. At least it hadn't been in the snow - that would have been worse.

After both of them felt better, Tian caught them up on the trial's progress.

"The men who took L-Lalasa have given their evidence. I do not know who the accused is, but Sir Paxton has attended every trial." Tian's hands shook slightly from worry and anger as she spoke in her quiet voice, the loss of Lalasa made fresh by these events.

"Joren." Kel stated in a hard voice, her eyes blazing. She looked down, but Raoul could see her jaw clenching and couldn't suppress a shiver. He pitied Joren when Kel got her hands on him - or at least, would have, if he hadn't kidnapped a maid.

"Are you alright, Kel?" Raoul asked her gently.

"No, I'm not." The anger in her voice had been replaced by a terrifying coolness, brittle like a frozen flower, smoking slightly where it met the air, and Tian shifted away from her slightly. "He pretended to be my friend. All that time, when he smiled and told me how to catch a husband, he was planning t-this, _this_!" She stood abruptly. "Tian, thank you. My Lord? Excuse me, but I need to think."

Raoul and Tian let her leave the room, both of them departing as well, exchanging nervous glances.

* * *

Raoul sat next to Kel on the bench reserved for the wronged party, Jump at Kel's feet as usual. Kel's parents, Inness, Lalasa's friend Tian, and her uncle Gower sat behind them. Kel's friends, Neal, Merric, Cleon, and Prince Roald were there. So was Wyldon, not unexpectedly. He had taken the kidnapping as a slight on him.

On the other side was Paxton, looking tired and anxious. Next to him was Ebroin of Genlith, the Stone Mountain steward, elegant and sleek and unctuous and Master Advocate Muirgen of Sigis Hold, one of the best advocates there were.

He explained this to Kel when she asked, but her reply showed her faith in the law.

Raoul was torn between preparing her for the inevitable outcome and his own fear of her reaction, but his decision was made by Duke Turomot calling for order. Everyone rose for the prayer of Mithros, and then sat down. His customary lecture was cut off when Jon and Thayet entered. He didn't blame them for coming; he had an uneasy feeling that this trial was important in ways he could not fathom.

The proceedings went as expected. The Master Advocate claimed the convicted men had been lying, and then asked them to be taken out. Kel's face hardened and she stared at the Master Advocate as if trying to memorize his face. He then protested the use of law court mages. And then Joren confessed.

Though really, it wasn't a confession so much as him taking the opportunity to spout his own prejudiced beliefs.

Duke Turomot leaned forward, his face full of restrained fury at the implications, looking like he wanted to challenge Joren despite his years. He said as much, before jumping to the verdict. "With regard to your actions, the law is specific. According to _The Laws of Tortall_, section five, chapter twelve, paragraph three, in the matter of one noble's body servant's death as the result of another noble's interference: the offending noble must pay recompense for the permanent loss of that servant; all expenses incurred by the noble with regard to court prosecution; and those costs incurred to bring said noble to court. I therefore fine Stone Mountain five hundred gold crowns, four hundred fifty of which are to be paid to Squire Keladry of Mindelan, fifty of which will be paid to the court for its expenses and those of the Watch."

Kel inhaled sharply. Raoul turned to look at her. Her face was white as she bit her lips, her hands shaking in fury. But it was her eyes that were worse; they looked like she had lost Lalasa all over again, wild with grief.

"Five hundred gold crowns!" he heard Ebroin of Genlith protested dimly. "The wench was naught but a maid!"

His ears were filled with a buzzing sound. Duke Turomot retorted, Joren said something before leaving, Sir Paxton said something and left, Ebroin said something - probably a protest, he didn't care. He could only see Kel's face, the picture of vengeance lying in wait. She rose.

"My lord, I would like a question answered." Her voice shook in the stone room, denial tinting it. "Please."

He looked at her. "Speak, Squire Keladry of Mindelan."

"I must have heard incorrectly. Lalasa died as a result of Joren's action and he gets a _fine_? I thought Tortall outlawed slavery centuries ago."

All around the court, people bristled. Raoul thought it ironic - Kel was right; this really wasn't that far off from slavery. It didn't stop him from worrying about her safety. "Hush, Kel," he whispered softly, touching her arm. She ignored him.

"Your tone borders on the insubordinate, squire," said Duke Turomot, matching ice for ice. "These laws have been in our codes for centuries, worked out by men far wiser than you. My clerk will send you the law pertinent to -"

Kel's face was stricken, clearly wracked with pain even as she attempted to hide it. Duke Turomot ended the session, and Raoul caught Jon's eyes as he walked down the aisle. He tried to hide it, but Jon looked like the boy he had been before the coronation, when the nation had been unstable and on the brink of rebellion. Thayet's was similarly troubled as she glanced at Kel. And then they left, and the rest of them filed out of the courtroom.

Outside, Kel shook off her parents and friends, fleeing to her rooms. Neal made to run after her but Roald, Cleon, and Merric restrained him, murmuring to him. Raoul left them.

"She'll be okay, won't she?" Lady Ilane of Mindelan asked Raoul, clearly grasping for the last strand of reassurance. "My lord?"

Raoul couldn't lie, not to this mother with her pained eyes who looked so much like Kel. "I don't know," he said softly. And then quieter, to himself. "I don't know."

* * *

They left Kel to heal, only calling her at dinnertime. It was their folly. Raoul realized only later the fool he had been, not locking Kel in a room, _chaining_ her to a room. When they went to look for her, she was gone, Jump was gone, the sparrows were gone, Peachblossom was gone. They had all disappeared somewhere in that world of rain slamming onto the ground, and Raoul realized then that he was a coward in ways other than unmarried young women.

The search for Kel was futile and half-hearted in the downpour. Nobody believed that she could be found; few wanted her to be found. Raoul was left, left to break the news to Ilane and Piers, to break the news to Neal and Merric and Roald and Cleon, to break the news to Tian and Grover, and later to break the news to Alanna, who had followed Kel so eagerly.

Outside, he swore the sky grew darker still, the rain falling harder in an echo of his own mood.

**What do you think?**


	2. Bloodshed

**Bloodshed**

_I am now convinced that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but by blood._

- John Brown, 1859

"Demitus of Marti's Hill is dead."

Raoul had been sitting at his table in his Persopolis room, working through paperwork with Flyndan Whiteford doing the same thing next to him when Domitan of Masbolle had entered.

Raoul groaned without looking up "Another one? Is it the Shadow again?"

"Who else?" Flyn said humorlessly.

"It could have been Maggur," Dom offered without conviction.

"Wish it was Maggur," Raoul muttered. "Then we would at least know who he was."

"Or she," Flyn reminded him in the tone of one who didn't expect to be listened to but was bound to do his duty anyways. "Keladry of Mindelan is the most likely suspect."

"I've told you, Flyn, it isn't her," Raoul said flatly. "Not only has she been missing for over two years, but all the evidence points to a young boy."

"Exactly. She's been missing," Flyn said.

"And the young boy?"

Flyn shrugged. "She's a girl. Besides, she could have recruited someone." He paused. "You'd think you'd want it to be her."

Raoul shook his head, letting out a tired sigh. "I don't know, Flyn, I don't know."

"If the Master Advocate or my lord of Stone Mountain had been the first to day, I'd say it was her," Dom offered. "But it wasn't. It was some rapist, remember."

Raoul shivered. He did, in fact, remember.

_It had been a nice day in Corus, despite his somber mood. Days earlier, Vinson of Genlith had been forced to confess his crimes by the Chamber; Joren of Stone Mountain had been killed. But none of this was reflected in the yellow banners flapping in the wind, the bustle of people standing or walking everywhere. Market vendors shouted, the red and green and purple and blue and white and yellow of tents cluttering the streets. Well-dressed men rode in high horses, a sharp contrast to the thinly clothed children running across the street. On one side, the temple of the Goddess stood, grim-faced women guarding the land. Raoul smiled - Alanna told him that she had vowed to become a knight after seeing them._

_As he walked, not sure where he was going, a scream ripped the air. Raoul spun around immediately._

_"MURDER!" a high pitched female voice shouted. "MURDER!"_

_Pinpointing the location of the shout, Raoul dashed towards the scene as the sharp sound of a Provost's Guard's whistle pierced the air, along with the curious people walking towards it, the Provost's Guards running, and opposing the panicked people fleeing. The previous, somewhat organized chaos deteriorated completely, people pushing and shoving._

_"HALT!" Raoul bellowed over the noise. Immediately, everyone except for the Provost's Guards stopped in their tracks, looking for the source. Several pairs of Guards stepped in, taking control with their batons, and Raoul left for the position of the scream._

_He arrived at a nice-looking flat, the walls painted, roof tiles fixed, and strode inside, watching the Guards do their work. The woman was the deceased's cleaning lady, a thin brunette. Her face was completely white, her eyes wide and panicked, breath coming in short gasps. As she led the Guards to the room, Raoul decided to follow, nodding to the Guards. He didn't work very closely with the Lord Provost, but he knew the Guards to a certain degree._

_All thoughts in this vein fled as soon as he entered the room the man was still in. At first glance it seemed completely ordinary, a bed, wall-hangings, a carpet, and what-not. But on the bed was a pool of blood, trickling over the golden blanket to drip onto the grass-green carpet, staining it irrevocably. On top of it lay a man, his face frozen in a look of anguish. His arm hung limply, half severed, raw muscle and bone and sinew showing, blood still spurting out, and his entire body was pale. Someone had castrated him before killing him, because his lower abdomen was bloody, red contrasting sharply with white. And on his chest, most chillingly, was written RAPIST. There were three scratch marks on his face and light imprints on the carpet, but there was otherwise no hint as to who the killer had been._

_His mind went first to Kel, Raoul admitted. Kel with her bone-cold eyes and the anger burning under her skin. He could imagine her standing, looming over the scene coldly, a tiny smile of satisfaction curled on her contemptuous lips. He nearly saw it, for a brief, flickering moment that made his breath catch in fear and anticipation._

_But then the mages examined the body and found no trace of who it could be, and Kel didn't know how to hide these things. The odds that she had found someone who did were low. And some hope died in him, though he knew he could be relieved, as he walked out._

_He didn't see Corus when he walked back._

With a breath that shuddered, bordering on a gasp, he pulled himself out of memory, but he could not shake the image of the mutilated man out of his head. There was some sort of wild eeriness around the death that made it so different from the others he had seen previously. And those letters, shining red, crusting around the edges, hovered in his vision...

Raoul shook his head to clear it. He sighed, not quite wanting to confront another body later. "Well, I suppose I'll have to read the reports soon enough."

"With all due respect, sir, _you_ read the reports?" Dom asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Don't you remember?" Flyn said drily. "Old conservatives decided that the Lord Provost wasn't good enough for nobles and racked up a fuss. So the king went and put our Lord Commander in charge instead."

Raoul made a face. "I hate Jon when he does things like this."

"What about Jon?" a voice said. All three of them jumped - they hadn't heard the door open.

Alanna the Lioness walked over, taking the wide strides of a knight lightened by the little lady training she'd received - or maybe it was just a sense of self preservation. Her red hair was tied up and coiled around her head, making it look like she had cut it. Violet eyes blazed as usual in an abnormally pale face. Behind her walked her squire, Neal, comically taller. Dom pulled out a chair for her and pointedly ignored his cousin. "Sit, Lady Knight."

Alanna smiled at Dom and took it, plopping down with an ungracefulness that came from nightly knightly exhaustion. Since two months after Kel's disappearance, when Alanna had suddenly begun riding with the Own, Alanna and Dom had shared a relationship that even George would have objected to if it hadn't been Dom, because Dom flirted with _everyone._ Behind her, Neal stuck out his tongue before sitting down himself.

"So, what was it about Jon?" Alanna said once she had situated herself.

Instantly, the mood, which had been taking a slight upturn, sobered again.

Raoul spoke first, hesitantly. "You heard about my lord of Marti's Hill?"

"He was Quinden's father," Neal said, his voice stilted.

Raoul looked at him with pity. Neal had been most affected by Kel's disappearance, having been her closest friend. Doubtless, he had heard the rumors.

"Dead?" Alanna said. "By the Avenger's hand?"

It was impossible not to notice Alanna's choice of words. Flyn looked away, Dom smiled in amusement, Neal coughed behind his hand, leaving Raoul to sigh, preparing to be the voice of reason. "Um, Alanna -"

"I know, I know," Alanna rolled her eyes. "It gets the conservatives all scared. Doesn't change the fact that his 'victims' all deserved it."

"_Her_," Flyn insisted. "It's probably Mindelan."

Neal flinched, his eyes an unreadable mix of emotions while Alanna scowled. "Do you have to bring her up?"

Flyn rolled his eyes. "Why is everyone so against that idea? It's not like she's killed anyone worth living."

"So you're joining the 'Avenger' team now," Dom said drily. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Jinoh Landin - rapist. Cora Stinson - murderess. Ebroin of Genlith - hated commoners; had many whipped viciously. Hansen -"

"Do you really have to list them all?" Raoul asked tiredly, resting his head on his hand, the images and report details flashing before his eyes at each name. "I have to deal with this every godscursed day."

Flyn looked completely unrepentant as he apologized. "Sorry, my lord. True, though."

"How do you think he's doing it, though?" Dom asked.

"Doing what?"

"Killing everyone undetected, obviously," drawled Neal in his usual dry tones that held no hint of his previous reaction to Kel's name.

Every eye slid to Raoul, who shrugged helplessly. "We don't know. At this point, we think it's a mage, a really powerful one with a grudge."

"That sounded uncannily like Daine," Alanna pointed out. "Not that I'm accusing her, of course." Despite that, Raoul chose to jot _Daine?_ on his notes. You never knew.

Flyn, ever suspicious, or at least not invested in either Daine or Kel, looked thoughtful. "Didn't she do something in Carthak or other?"

"Destroyed a palace and rendered it inhabitable for at least a year," Neal replied promptly. "You know, the usual."

Alanna rolled her eyes. "There was divine intervention, squire, as you well know."

"Besides, Daine isn't the type to kill coldly," Raoul said, hoping he could close the discussion. "Even though she probably could."

It didn't work, of course. "_And_ she has that mage-lover of hers," Neal, of all people, chose to insert. Alanna smacked him over the head, muttering something about jealousy. Neal glared at her and continued, rubbing his head. "So that makes her doubly possible."

"But _why_?" Dom said reasonably. "Unless I was right all along, and magic really _does_ addle people."

"It's the insanity that gives you the gift," Alanna said drily. "It ran in my family, at least. And it'd explain Numair. And Daine. And my father. And now that I think of it, Meathead here as well."

"Hey!"

Raoul snorted. "Jon as well," he couldn't help adding. "But Thayet doesn't have it, and she's just as insane."

"Are you allowed to say that, my lord?" Flyn wondered aloud.

"Jon won't care," Alanna said frankly. "He knows it's true."

"It's the only thing keeping him alive in these crazy times," Dom said quietly, sobering them all. "You heard about that riot in Dockmarket yesterday?"

Raoul had been praying for a change of topic, but not to this one.

Around the tent, people made the Sign. "Five people dead," Flyn whispered. "And that's the third one this month."

"It's the middle class," Alanna said grimly. "They've heard about the Avenger, the conservative's attempts to stop him, and his victims, and they won't stand for it. Not after centuries of oppression."

Raoul nodded, unpleasant memories of that first, unsteady year of Jon's reign, back when nobody believed in him. "Jon always said those laws would breed bloodshed. That was why he and Thayet worked so hard to get rid of them." He sighed. "Well, nobody ever called him a fool."

They sat in silence for a while before a rap on the tent flap sounded. Whoever was knocking somehow actually managed to make a sound. Raoul sighed, shouting "Enter!"

The flap opened, light flooding in, and all of them squinted. A messenger entered with a stack of files. After attempting what looked like a bow, he put them on Raoul's table where Raoul pointed, bowed properly, and then left.

Raoul took a cursory flip through the stack. They were all reports on the recent murder of Demitus of Marti's Hill. He rubbed his neck, a crick already forming in it just from the thought of looking through all of them.

"Mithros, strike down all paperwork," Raoul groaned aloud, to the amusement of the others in the rom.

Alanna vaulted lightly to her feet. "Well, I'll leave you to your work," she said, walking out. "Come, squire."

Neal sighed, getting up slower. "You wouldn't consider taking me for your squire, would you, my lord? I'll help you with the paperwork. Mine is the mind of an aca-"

"Are you coming?" Alanna demanded from the doorway of the tent.

"Not even a little?" he pleaded to Raoul, before Alanna physically _dragged_ him out.

Raoul chuckled at the squire's offer. To be honest, he might have accepted if Neal's training as a healer hadn't been more important. While Kel hadn't seemed quite human, at some times, having her as a squire had made him realize he liked teaching, more than he'd expected.

But Neal was needed as a knight-healer, and he had a pile of paperwork to face. He flipped through it again, seeing detailed descriptions and pictures and swiftly conducted interviews, any evidence they could dredge up. While he knew he was only put in this position to appease the conservatives and the real work was being done by the same people as it always was, duty made him give it more than a cursory examination.

He started with the document on the top.

_The subject, the lord Demitus of Marti's Hill, was found dead in his room at nine hours, twenty one minutes after midnight on the thirteenth day of May by his wife. He appeared to be sleeping, a grimace on his face, according to her. However, closer examination found that he had been poisoned with the root of cerrtem, generally used to lure and kill rabid animals. The invader left no tracks except for a few, small claw marks on the subject's face. There were no apparent openings in the room that an invader could have entered through…_

It went on in that vein for a while, though there was remarkably little evidence. Certainly not enough to warrant the amount of paper he had on his desk. Raoul closed his eyes. Who could it be? Who would have the ability, and the motive to do this? Who?

* * *

Just outside, within earshot of the tent, a little bird that had been perched took off, flying towards the distant woods.

It came to a stop before a small boy, who greeted it with a smile and a pet. "Good bird, Arrow," he murmured as he removed the listening charm concealed under the bird's wing.

The bird shot him a reproachful look, as if scolding him for having expected anything else.

The boy chuckled. "'Course I knew you could do it," he said. "Well, go wherever you're supposed to."

Arrow turned away from him, flipping up his tail, before flying off.

For a moment the boy watched Arrow fly off, a childish smile on his face. It faded as he looked down at the listening charm in his hand. A stroke made it play back its contents softly, and he stood there, listening.

A very different smile spread across his face. Yes, this was good. This was certainly good.

**Thank you to everyone who's been waiting for this chapter, especially those who reviewed the last one. Updates will be fairly sporadic due to school and other commitments.**


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